Five thoughts: Johnny Manziel finally looks like a freshman; Ben Malena the man for Aggies; Kevin Sumlin has changed culture at Texas A&M

1. Johnny Manziel must work on decision making: On the outside, Manziel was good again for the Aggies, putting up more than 300 total yards and 2 TDs in the win. But there were far too many plays when he sat in the pocket for six, seven or even eight seconds looking for a receiver to come open. And when he couldn’t find them, he forced a few passes that were picked off. Manziel got away with a few of his rookie mistakes because the defense he was facing wasn’t especially stout, but Saturday night was the first time all season that Manziel really looked like a freshman at times.

2. Ben Malena is the man in the Aggie backfield: While all the preseason hype was focused on Christine Michael and Trey Williams, junior RB Ben Malena has quietly become the man at running back. Aggie RBs had 22 combined carries on Saturday. The distribution: Williams: 0; Michael: 4; Malena: 18. He also averaged an astounding 7.9 yards per carry for the night.

3. Mike Evans saves the day: While Manziel’s late touchdowns will make the highlight reels, the biggest play of the day might’ve been Mike Evans’ phenomenal leaping grab on 3rd and 19 to keep A&M’s first 4th quarter scoring drive alive. With the Aggies pushed back deep in their own end, Manziel heaved up a desperation pass, and though an Ole Miss defender had position on Evans, the freshman used all of his 6-foot-5 frame to pluck the ball out of midair. It probably saved the game for A&M.

4. Defense makes plays when it matters: The defense wasn’t outstanding for A&M, allowing 464 yards on the day, but they were dealt a tough hand with the offense coughing the ball up six times. But the D was great when A&M needed it most, tying the game at 17 with a pick six just before the half, and stopping Ole Miss on its final three drives, including a crucial 4th-and-1 stuff with three minutes to go. Then there was Toney Hurd’s INT with just over a minute left, which sealed it for the Ags.

5. Second half woes are a thing of the past: Ole Miss’ 4th quarter choke job resembled something A&M would’ve done last year under Mike Sherman. But instead of shriveling late, the Aggies rose to the occasion, which seems to be a trend. A&M quickly quashed any comeback hopes Arkansas may have had in the 3rd quarter last week, and rallied with a flawless final 12 minutes in Oxford to improve to 4-1. Regardless of what you think of the Kevin Sumlin regime so far, you can’t say the culture doesn’t seem to have changed.